Garment clip



April 1964 E. D POSEY 3,130,463

GARMENT CLIP Filed April 15, 1962 Z9 Z5 INVENTOR:

ATTORNEY United States Patent C) 3,130,463 GARMENT CLIP Eldridge D. Pusey, Rte. 5, Murfreesboro, Tenn. Filed Apr. 13, 1962, Ser. No. 187,402 2 Claims. (Cl. 24-137) This invention relates to a garment clip and more particularly to a novel type clip for suspending garments from a support member, such as a clothes hanger or clothes line.

One object of this invention is to provide a one-piece garment clip of resilient material of novel construction.

Another object of this invention is to provide a onepiece garment clip including jaws for clamping a garment and lever members for spreading the jaws apart, the material of the clip having sufiicient natural resiliency to normally maintain the jaws in clamped position.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel garment slip which is adapted to suspend two different types of garments simultaneously.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel garment clip which may be used as an attachment on a conventional clothes hanger for gripping and suspending garments therefrom, or which may be attached to a clothes line and used as a clothes pin.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel garment clip which may be used in pairs to suspend garments from a clothes hanger regardless of the size of the garment.

Another object of this invention is to provide a garment clip which is adapted to suspend trousers by their cuffs.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a pair of garment clips, made in accordance with this invention attached to a conventional clothes hanger for suspending a pair of trousers;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the clip made in accordance with this invention, disclosed mounted on a support member, such as a clothes line;

FIG. 3 is an end elevation of the clip in its normal operative position mounted on the rail of a clothes hanger, simultaneously clamping a skirt and supporting the cuffs of a pair of trousers; and

FIG. 4 is another end elevation of the clip disclosed in another operative position for unclamping the jaws.

Referring now to the drawings in more detail, the garment clip is adapted to be mounted upon or attached to a support member, such as the lower rail 11 of a conventional coat hanger 12 having a hook 13 for engagement with a clothes bar, not shown. The clip 19 is also adapted to be mounted upon a clothes line 14, as disclosed in FIG. 2, or any other similar type of support member.

The clip 10 is preferably a W-shaped one-piece member of uniform resilient material, preferably a plastic, such as polyethylene or Lucite. Of course, it is also possible that the material may be a resilient metal.

The W-form of the clip 10 includes a pair of inner arms 16 and 17, the upper ends of which are joined by an open-ended, inverted loop member 18. The ends of the loop member 18 converge to integrally join the corresponding upper ends of the arms 16 and 17. The inner arcuate grooves 19 and 20 are formed in the inner surfaces of the arms 16 and 17, where the upper ends of the arms 16 and 17 join the loop member 18. The grooves 19 and 20 are spaced apart slightly and oppose each other so that they may receive and grip a support member, such as the hanger rail 11. A space or hole 21 is provided between the loop member 18 and the grooves 19 and 20 to permit the grooves 19 and 20 to move toward and away 3,130,463 Patented Apr. 28, 1964 from each other with the movement of the arms 16 and 17. The arms 16 and 17 diverge downwardly and terminate at their lower ends in opposed jaws 23 and 24. The jaws 23 and 24 are adapted to protrude inwardly toward each other beyond the inner surfaces of the arms 16 and 17 in order to provide a space 25 above the jaws 23 and 24.

A pair of outer lever members or legs 27 and 28 are joined at their lower ends by connecting portions or flanges 29 and 30 to the backs or outer edges of the jaws 23 and 24.

The length of the clip 10, as disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 2 is not too important, so long as it is sufficient to include enough resilient material to provide the necessary strength and wearing qualities, and to eliminate any tendency for the clip to slide on the rail 11. Moreover, the length of the lever members 27 and 28 must be sufiicient to provide adequate surface for gripping by the operators fingers.

The lever members 27 and 28 must extend above the loop member 18 in order to provide the necessary leverage to separate the jaws 23 and 24 and the grooves 19 and 20 when pressure is applied to the upper portions of the lever members 27 and 28, as disclosed in FIG. 4.

The inner surfaces of the grooves 19 and 20 and the opposing surfaces of the jaws 23 and 24 may be corrugated or serrated if desired to insure better gripping surfaces.

Although a preferred form of the clip includes a onepiece member of uniformly resilient material, the clip will function satisfactorily if only the loop portion 18 is resilient, or if the loop member 18 is more resilient than the other parts of the clip.

In addition to extending above the loop member 18, the height of the lever members 27 and 28 above the connecting portions 29 and 30 must be at least as great as the depth of the cuff 33 of a pair of pants 34 to be suspended from the lever member 27 or 28.

The operation of the invention becomes readily apparent from the above disclosure. If it is desired to suspend a skirt from a coat hanger 12, a pair of clips 10 and 10' (FIG. 1) are mounted on the rail 11 by manually pressing the lever members 27 and 28 together, as disclosed in FIG. 4, so that the jaws 23 and 24 and the grooves 19 and 20 will separate and permit the arms 16 and 17 to straddle and pass down over the rail 11. When the rail 11 is located between the grooves 19 and 20, the lever members 27 and 28 are released and the natural resiliency of the material in the clip, and particularly the loop portion 18, permits the grooves 19 and 20 to firmly grip the rail 11, as disclosed in FIG. 3. Either while the clip 10, 10' is being mounted upon the rail 11, or after the clip is secured, the skirt 35 may be inserted between the jaws 23 and 24 when the lever members 27 and 28 are pressed toward each other. In order to obtain a better grip or to allow for inadvertent slipping, the upper portion 36 of the skirt 35 may be moved upward into the space 25 above the jaws 23 and 24. After the lever members 27 and 28 are released to resume their normal operative position, the jaws 23 and 24 are biased toward each other to firmly clamp the portion of the skirt 35 between them.

If it is desired to support a pair of trousers 34, the clips 10 and 10' are mounted on the rail 11 in the same manner as previously described, and the inner portion of the cuff 33 of one trouser leg is fitted over the top of one lever member, such as 28, as disclosed in FIG. 3. Then the inner portion of the cuff of the other trouser leg is fitted over the other lever member 27 of both clips 10 and 10'. The clips 10 and 10' are then moved away from each other to the solid line position disclosed in FIG. 1, so that the cuff will be stretched lengthwise in order to hold the crease in the trouser leg. The phantom-line posi- 3 tions of clips 10 and 10', disclosed in FIG. 1, illustrate the adjustability of the clips on the hanger rail 11, and also an extended position for a larger pair of pants.

Although it will of course be understood that the clip 10 may be used individually to hang small garments or articles, such as ties, they are most effectively employed in pairs to hang heavier garments, such as trousers 34 and skirts 35, as previously described. As disclosed in FIG. 2, the clip 10 may also be employed very effectively as a clothes pin by gripping the clothes line 14 between the grooves 19 and 20 and by clamping the clothes between the jaws 23 and 24.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is shown in the drawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A garment clip comprising:

(a) spaced inner clamping arms having upper ends and lower ends,

(b) resilient means for joining said upper ends and biasing said arms together,

() opposed inner grooves on said arms spaced between said joining means and said lower ends for receiving an elongated support member,

(d) said lower ends comprising jaws having inner opposed, substantially fiat, parallel surfaces, and extending inwardly from said arms to provide a space between said arms and between said jaws and said grooves for receiving the upper extension of a garment clamped by said jaws,

(e) substantially parallel outer lever members joining said lower ends and extending above said joining means, said lever members being adapted to extend within and suspend a pants cult, and

(1) each lever member being spaced from and out of contact with its corresponding arm.

2. A garment clip comprising:

(a) spaced inner clamping arms having upper ends and lower ends,

(b) resilient means for joining said upper ends and biasing said arms together,

(0) said lower ends comprising opposed jaws for clamping a garment therebetween,

(d) opposed inner grooves on said arms spaced between said joining means and said jaws for receiving an elongated support member,

(2) substantially parallel outer lever members joining said lower ends and extending above said joining means, said lever members being adapted to extend within and suspend a pants end,

(1) each lever member being spaced from its corresponding arm, and

(g) said joining means being slightly more resilient than any other portion of said clip, so that when inward pressure is applied to said lever members above the joining means, said jaws and said grooves will be spread apart, and the spacing between said lever members and said arms will be substantially maintained.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Seale et al Oct. 1, 1946 Brinkerhoff July 23, 1867 Volmer Apr. 22, 1913 Norris Mar. 12, 1918 Garcia Apr. 27, 1954 Rose Apr. 5, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS France Apr. 5, Italy Sept. 1, 

1. A GARMENT CLIP COMPRISING: (A) SPACED INNER CLAMPING ARMS HAVING UPPER ENDS AND LOWER ENDS, (B) RESILIENT MEANS FOR JOINING SAID UPPER ENDS AND BIASING SAID ARMS TOGETHER, (C) OPPOSED INNER GROOVES ON SAID ARMS SPACED BETWEEN SAID JOINING MEANS AND SAID LOWER ENDS FOR RECEIVING AN ELONGATED SUPPORT MEMBER, (D) SAID LOWER ENDS COMPRISING JAWS HAVING INNER OPPOSED, SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT, PARALLEL SURFACES, AND EXTENDING INWARDLY FROM SAID ARMS TO PROVIDE A SPACE BETWEEN SAID ARMS AND BETWEEN SAID JAWS AND SAID GROOVES FOR RECEIVING THE UPPER EXTENSION OF A GARMENT CLAMPED BY SAID JAWS, (E) SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL OUTER LEVER MEMBERS JOINING SAID LOWER ENDS AND EXTENDING ABOVE SAID JOINING MEANS, SAID LEVER MEMBERS BEING ADAPTED TO EXTEND WITHIN AND SUSPEND A PANTS CUFF, AND (F) EACH LEVER MEMBER BEING SPACED FROM AND OUT OF CONTACT WITH ITS CORRESPONDING ARM. 